Finding Peace and Joy, Bradley Cox

Growing up in the local churches, I've had many opportunities to experience the Lord. But I'll never forget the weekend in 1984 when I learned how enjoyable it is to touch God and to touch Him with other believers in Christ.

I was 13 years old and my father had signed me up for my first junior-high-age young people's conference in Houston, Texas. There was a dress code and a list of other rules of conduct, which, at my age, was hard to look forward to. The conference began on Friday and, reluctantly, I arrived. However, by the end of the meeting on Sunday, my only disappointment was that I had to leave. None of us wanted to go home.

That weekend we were all filled with Christ. We learned how wonderful it is to open our mouths and call on the Lord. We sang hymns and were filled, and we sang hymns because we were filled. Most importantly, we were a bunch of young people enjoying Christ in one accord.

I have never seen so many young people as happy and jubilant as we were. The best word I can use to describe the atmosphere is ``peaceful''. That peace tasted better and was more enjoyable than anything I had ever experienced. And having experienced such peace and joy in the Lord at a young age preserved me throughout the rest of my school years.

To this day, I find that real peace and joy is not at parties or at bars or anywhere else, but with Christ and with other believers in Christ.